ACTA

Luzern, 28th june, 2010 - A new round of negotiations of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) is beginning today between 11 negotiating parties -including the EU- in Luzern, Switzerland. All around the world, organizations of concerned citizens, people living with HIV, and academics urge governments to renounce to this illegitimate agreement.

Paris, June 23rd 2010 - A document leaked from the Presidency of the EU reveals that Member States are pushing for new criminal sanctions into the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a few days ahead of the next negotiation round. The proposal stated in this document reveals how illegitimate and dangerous the whole ACTA process is, while exposing the scary position of the EU calling for more repression of non-for-profit usages...

Strasbourg, June 14th 2010 - Only two weeks of plenary in Strasbourg are left for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to have a chance to sign Written Declaration 12 (WD12) on ACTA. 150 signatures are still missing, mostly from Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and Poland.

Brussels, June 1st 2010 - The vote, in JURI committee of the European Parliament on the Gallo report "Enforcement of intellectual property", including the rapporteur's repressive amendments, reflects the asphyxiating influence of corporate lobbies on EU policy-making. The ALDE group, which had stood for fundamental freedoms on several occasions, this time sided with the entertainment industries. This vote should make EU citizens react and convince MEPs about the stakes of our evolving digital societies. Beyond the vote of the Gallo report in plenary session, there are other upcoming legislative battles where the public interest of creativity and access to knowledge can be upheld against an obsolete vision of copyright.

Brussels, May 30th 2010 - A few hours before the vote on the Gallo report regarding the future of EU copyright, the rapporteur, French sarkozyst Marielle Gallo, has tried to lead her colleagues into voting fake compromise amendments1. Mrs Gallo tries to hide the clash between two very conflicting positions: on one hand, the rapporteur's ultra-repressive logic against online filesharing - including the encouragement of the ACTA agreement and of private copyright police - and on the other hand, the understanding that a successful creative economy will be built with Internet users and not against them. It's up to us, citizens, to help the members of the JURI committee to make the right decision by protecting fundamental freedoms and the public interest.

1. These amendments actually are not the object of a compromise and reject the most important points in the proposals of several shadow rapporteurs (members representing the political groups, negociating together compromise amendments)

Strasbourg, May 17th 2010 - 185 signatures already, 184 left for an absolute majority! The Written Declaration 12 (WD12) on the ACTA agreement is still open for signatures from Members of the European Parliament (MEPs); it is now halfway completed. By setting red lines to the EU negotiators, it addresses key issues of the right to a fair trial and liability of Internet service providers. This week is a plenary week in Strasbourg, where MEPs will have an occasion to sign it.

“Article 11 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789 proclaims : "The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Every citizen may thus speak, write and publish freely, except when such freedom is misused in cases determined by Law". In the current state of the means of communication and given the generalized development of public online communication services and the importance of the latter for the participation in democracy and the expression of ideas and opinions, this right implies freedom to access such services. ” - Conseil Constitutionnel, decision 2009-580 (§ 12)

Strasbourg, April 21st, 2010 - The release of the public draft of ACTA1 is a milestone in the long opposition to this illegitimate agreement, which aims at tackling trademark, copyright and patent infringements. Now, citizens, NGOs and parliaments all around the world must continue to act together to expose ACTA and its dangers. This whole policy laundering is incompatible with democracy and the ideals of preserving fundamental rights, Internet, public health and innovation at large.

Strasbourg, April 19th, 2010 - On Wednesday, the countries negotiating ACTA will release a draft text of this agreement aimed at tackling trademark, patent and copyright infringements. This important step in favor of transparency should not divert elected representatives around the world from exerting their prerogatives by drawing clear red lines not to be crossed by negotiators. In Europe, citizens can participate in raising awareness on ACTA by helping collect signatures to Written Declaration 12.

Paris, Apr. 12th 2010 - This week, a new round of negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is taking place in Wellington, New Zealand. Recent leaks have revealed that the agreement aims at exporting the harshest sanctions related to copyright, patents and trademark infringement, and could turn Internet operators into a private copyright police. In addition, the whole process is an illegitimate circumvention of democracy. ACTA must be stopped.

Paris, March 29th, 2010 - One after the other, leaked documents unveil the truth regarding the negotiations of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Public comments focus on specific points or nuances in the positions of the various negotiating parties. In this context of partial information, La Quadrature du Net stresses three core reasons for rejecting the principle of ACTA itself: policy laundering; a "one-size-fits-all" approach that confuses different domains or activities in a manner that is dangerous for access to knowledge, health and innovation; strong risks for fundamental rights such as freedom of expression.

Strasbourg, March 10th, 2010 - The European Parliament massively approved a common resolution1 opposing the current negotiation process regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). This resolution2 is an important call for transparency and the respect of democratic processes. In the coming weeks, the Parliament will have the opportunity to further address the actual content of the negotiated text through the written declaration 12/20103.

Strasbourg, March 8th 2010 - The written declaration 12/2010 regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is now open for signatures. It has to be signed within three months by more than half of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). It is a great opportunity for the European Parliament to prove its commitment to protecting fundamental rights and freedoms. Every EU citizen concerned about ACTA and the preservation of an open Internet can participate1 by getting in touch with MEPs2 and urging them to sign the written declaration.